Six of Maryland’s 11 consensus All-Americans return Saturday as part of homecoming festivities

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –The Maryland football team will welcome back six of the program’s 11 consensus All-Americans for an in-game celebration as part of homecoming festivities as the Terps take on ninth-ranked Clemson Saturday.

The following members of the consensus All-American class will be in attendance and honored during Saturday’s game (years lettered): Dale Castro (1978-80), Gary Collins (1959-61), E.J. Henderson (1999-2002), J.D. Maarleveld (1984-85), Jack Scarbath (1950-52) and Randy White (1972-74).

DALE CASTRO – 1979

It was quite a streak. And it almost didn’t happen.

Dale Castro came to the University of Maryland seeking a baseball scholarship. After getting sick and missing the baseball tryouts, he decided to try and walk on as a kicker with the football team.

It worked.

In his senior season, Castro set a then-NCAA record with 16 straight successful field goals. Five of those field goals came in a 35-14 win over Mississippi State, including four in the first half.

He went on to hit 17 of 21 field goals that year, with his 80.9 percentage ranking fourth on Maryland’s single-season list. The Terps were 7-4 overall that season and tied for second in the ACC with a 4-2 mark in league games.

Castro finished with 27 career field goals for the Terps, ranking 11th on the career list, and his 69.2 percent success rate is seventh for a career.

Castro was also Maryland’s punter at the time and ranks fifth with 8,584 yards.

He served as a high school football and baseball coach for a number of seasons and was inducted into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

GARY COLLINS – 1961

Many football fans remember Gary Collins as one of the top receivers in the NFL in the 1960s. Understandable, since he was part of the NFL’s All-Decade Team from the ‘60s.

But on his way to that fame in pro football, Collins was an outstanding two-way end at the University of Maryland.

In his senior season of 1961, Collins was part of a 7-3 team that finished third in the ACC under head coach Tom Nugent. He had 30 catches for 428 yards that season and was eighth in final balloting for the Heisman Trophy.

The Baltimore Sun recently wrote about Collins’ two-way exploits that season. Against North Carolina, Collins made three straight tackles in a goal-line stand, and then caught the game-winning touchdown in the final minute.

In another game against NC State, Collins intercepted a Roman Gabriel pass, pinned the Wolfpack on their 1-yard line as the Terps’ punter, and then blocked a punt for a Terp touchdown.

Following his strong senior season, Collins was the fourth selection in the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He played 10 seasons with the Browns and was selected to two Pro Bowls.

He caught three touchdown passes in Cleveland’s 27-0 upset of the Baltimore Colts in the 1964 NFL Championship game.

Collins still ranks 20th for career receiving yards (1,182) at Maryland and his 12 touchdown catches with the Terrapins are sixth on the all-time career list.

E.J. HENDERSON – 2001 & 2002

E.J. Henderson’s name is all over the pages marked “Tackles” in the Maryland Football record book.

The only Terrapin honored twice as a consensus All-American, Henderson led the Terrapins in tackles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. His 475 tackles rank second behind only Eric Wilson (481, 1981-84) on the career list.

In 2001, 28 of his 150 tackles went for losses by the opponents, a mark that still stands at Maryland as the single-season school record for TFLs. His ability to wreak havoc on opposing offenses earned him not only the ACC Defensive Player of the Year honor, but the overall selection as ACC Player of the Year.

The Terrapins went 10-2 overall and won the ACC title with a 7-1 mark in Ralph Friedgen’s first year as head coach. Maryland finished 11th in the final AP rankings.

Henderson went for an encore the next season, rolling up 175 tackles (4th on the Terps’ single-season list) on a team that went 11-3, finished 13th in the rankings and beat Tennessee in the Peach Bowl.

He won the Butkus Award as the top linebacker of the year and the Bednarik Award for the top defensive player nationally. He also repeated as the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Henderson finished his Terrapin career being credited with 62-1/2 tackles for loss as a collegian, considerably more than the 45 by Aaron Thompson (1998-2001).

A second-round selection of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2003 NFL Draft, he played nine seasons with the Vikings. Henderson reached the Pro Bowl in 2010.

He is currently active in community service projects in the Minneapolis area and operates an outreach program for urban youths, the E.J. Henderson Youth Foundation.

J.D. MAARLEVELD – 1985

Notre Dame’s loss was absolutely Maryland’s gain.

J.D. Maarleveld enrolled to play offensive tackle for the Fighting Irish. But shortly after his sophomore year, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer.

After losing 35 pounds, Maarleveld opted to transfer to the University of Maryland to play for head coach Bobby Ross.

Witness to his perseverance and courage, Maarleveld earned the Brian Piccolo Award in 1984 from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Witness to his talent as a football player, Maarleveld earned consensus All-America honors in 1985.

Maryland was 9-3 overall in his senior season, including a 35-18 Cherry Bowl win over Syracuse. The Terrapins also won the ACC title that season with a perfect 6-0 mark.

Maarleveld was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft and spent two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He was inducted into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.

JACK SCARBATH – 1952

Jack Scarbath is one of the most recognizable figures in many aspects of the history at the University of Maryland. He went from All-America quarterback to Hall of Famer to Board of Regents member.

His first influence on the university came as a sophomore when he christened the new Byrd Stadium field by scoring the first touchdown there in 1950. His 21-yard touchdown helped the Terrapins beat Navy, 35-21.

From there, the Baltimore native continued to lead his Terrapins.

He led the Terps to a 24-4-1 mark in his three seasons, including a perfect 10-0 season and a 28-13 upset of top-ranked Tennessee in the 1951 Sugar Bowl. He was under center during the Terrapins’ 22-game unbeaten streak from 1950 through 1952.

In that 1952 season, he finished as runner-up for the Heisman Trophy to Oklahoma’s Billy Vessels after throwing for 1,149 yards, rushing for a team-high 237 more and throwing 10 touchdown passes.

Scarbath was a first-round draft choice of the Washington Redskins, playing with them and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL.

He was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1983.

Following football, he became a successful businessman, but always stayed close to his alma mater. Scarbath served as chairman for the Maryland Educational Foundation and on the Board of Regents.

RANDY WHITE – 1974

Like many defensive linemen of his time, Randy White used his size and strength to dominate opposing offenses. But White may have revolutionized the defensive end position with a quickness that made him a frequent visitor to opposing backfields.

As a senior at Maryland in 1974, White made 24 tackles for losses totaling 122 yards. The yardage lost is still a single-season record at Maryland some 39 seasons later. Twelve of those tackles were sacks.

Despite suffering a 7-3 loss to Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl, White was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Maryland went 8-4 that season and won the first of three straight ACC Championships under head coach Jerry Claiborne.

He was honored with the Outland and Lombardi Trophies as the top collegiate lineman nationally and was the ACC Player of the Year.

White was a first-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys and went on to play 14 seasons in Dallas. He was an All-Pro selection nine times with the Cowboys and shared MVP honors with Harvey Martin when the Cowboys beat Denver in Super Bowl XII.

He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

White’s jersey number 94 has been retired at Maryland, the only number so honored in the Terrapin football program.